Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Among the many diseases predicted to come with climate change, a team of U.S. researchers say kidney stones may become more common as the temperature rises across North America. Researchers from University of Texas examined how the incidence of kidney stones would change with increasing temperatures and suggest kidney stones may increase across the United States by as much as 30 percent in the most affected areas. In addition, they calculate the direct and indirect costs of treating approximately 2 million new kidney stone cases annually could increase by 1 billion U.S. dollars by 2050, which is 25 percent more than the current expenditures.Previous research has found the risk of kidney stone formation is increased by low urine volume, which reflects the state of body hydration.

While the response of kidney stone formation to temperature increase is uncertain, the authors note kidney stone incidence is higher in warmer parts of the country, especially the southeast, presumably due to fluid loss in warm climate.They caution if the risk increases directly with temperature, high-population coastal regions could see the largest increases.If the risk suddenly climbs steeply at some threshold temperature, a band stretching from Kentucky to northern California would likely see the most new cases.